England are 'past it': Ponting

Former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting believes England are 'past their peak' and must take a call on some of their ageing stars.

Ponting also feels that England may succumb to yet another 5-0 whitewash, with the visitors struggling to stay afloat after surrendering the Ashes at Perth.Ponting told the Daily Mail: "England are a team past their peak, while the Australians are only going to get better.

"We saw it in the first Ashes series, when Kevin Pietersen only really played one significant innings, and Alastair Cook and Matt Prior struggled with the bat. Those trends have continued out here.

"I do think it's hard to be dominant for a long time - unless your team contains several all-time legends.

"England have been a good side for a while, and some of their players have excellent records. But at some point, that was going to come to a halt.

"England now have to take a look at their senior players and decide how many years they have left in them. If they think they can still get two years out of them, then they have to nurture them through that period.

"If not, they should cut them adrift and give the new guys a go. The question is, is there anyone coming through right now?"

Some of the senior England players like James Andersonand Matt Prior have looked jaded as the tour progressed, while skipper, Alastair Cook and star batsman, Kevin Pietersen have looked short on ideas.

Asked about the remainder of the series, Ponting said:"There's a lot of cricket still to play, but I know the guys will be hungry for 5-0. And it's going to take a huge effort from the English to stop them."